The Los Angeles Lakers have been connected to nine different players ahead of this season’s trade deadline, according to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha.
“As The Athletic has previously reported, a Lakers move is more likely later in January or early in February leading into the deadline, allowing Los Angeles more time to evaluate the roster and see if injured players like Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood can plug some of the holes within the rotation,” Buha wrote. “But it appears that, if the Lakers make a move on the sooner end, trading for [Jonas] Valančiūnas, [Cameron] Johnson and/or [Dorian] Finney-Smith would be the most realistic exceptions.
“Other names that have come up in talks with team and league personnel over the past few weeks include Utah’s Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton, Toronto’s Bruce Brown Jr., Portland’s Jerami Grant and Robert Williams III and Washington’s Kyle Kuzma. The Lakers are not anticipated to be heavily in the mix for Miami’s Jimmy Butler, New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram or Chicago’s Zach LaVine.”
The Lakers are currently the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference with a 14-12 record, and they may need a move to help them get out of the play-in tournament mix and into a top-six seed by the end of the season.
It was recently reported that the Lakers are prioritizing adding depth rather than adding a star-level player at the deadline this season.
Valanciunas, Johnson and Finney-Smith would all give the Lakers some more depth in their current rotation.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the Lakers may be able to add Valanciunas by trading guard Gabe Vincent and second-round draft capital to the Washington Wizards. Valanciunas would give the Lakers a proven veteran big man to play alongside Anthony Davis in some lineups and replace him in the rotation when the star big man goes to the bench.
In the last two seasons, the Lakers have relied on Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood (who has not played yet this season) to help spell Davis in the frontcourt.
As for Johnson and Finney-Smith, they are both solid 3-and-D options that could improve the Lakers’ spacing.
Johnson is averaging 18.6 points per game this season while shooting an impressive 48.4 percent from the field and 43.3 percent from 3. Finney-Smith is averaging 11.0 points while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 45.0 percent from 3.
The Lakers only have one player – Rui Hachimura – that is shooting over 40 percent from 3 on their roster this season.
Ultimately, the Lakers need to decide which pieces they’re willing to move on from at the trade deadline and what those pieces could net them in return.
D’Angelo Russell is in the final season of his contract and could be an intriguing piece for a team simply looking for an expiring contract. Vincent and Vanderbilt are cheaper players than Russell on their deals for this season, but both have dealt with injury issues in recent seasons.
The NBA’s trade deadline isn’t until Feb. 6, so the Lakers have some time to evaluate their roster further to see where exactly they need to add talent to make a playoff push.
